Peru: Premier League Nations
The next destination of our alphabetical world tour is Peru. Though five players have represented Peru in the Premier League, one man stands above the rest.
First Player – Nolberto Solano (Newcastle, Aston Villa, West Ham; 1998-2008)
A Premier League legend. With over 300 Premier League appearances to his name, Nolberto Solano is regarded as one of the Premier League’s finest foreign exports, particularly at Newcastle.
A versatile midfielder with a wand of a right foot, Solano is close to royalty in the black and white parts of the North East. 230 of Solano’s 302 Prem appearances came in a Newcastle shirt, from 1998-2004 and again from 2005-2007.
He also enjoyed spells at Aston Villa and West Ham, before ending a 10-year stint in English football in 2008. Solano made 95 appearances for Peru between 1995 and 2009 and has the joint-sixth most caps of any Peruvian footballer.
Records
- Most appearances – Nolberto Solano (302)
- First appearance – Nolberto Solano (Chelsea 1-1 NEWCASTLE, August 22nd 1998)
- Most goals – Nolberto Solano (49)
- First goal – Nolberto Solano (NEWCASTLE 3-1 Wimbledon, November 28th 1998)
Other Players
No Peruvian has appeared in the Premier League since 2017/18 when André Carrillo spent a season on loan at Watford from Benfica. The other three Peruvians to have made an appearance are Claudio Pizarro (Chelsea), Diego Penny (Burnley) and Ysrael Zuñiga (Coventry City).
Trivia
- Peru are one of 10 CONMEBOL nations to have featured in the Premier League, the only confederation to have had 100% of its members appear.
- Claudio Pizarro is the sixth top scorer in Bundesliga history.
- Claudio Pizarro and Nolberto Solano both appear in the top 10 scorers and appearance makers in the history of the Peru national team.